Mike Ditka, who died Friday at age 86, will forever be remembered as “Da Coach” who led the 1985 Chicago Bears to victory in Super Bowl XX to cap one of the most dominant seasons in NFL history. But Ditka’s enduring legacy as a player may be more significant than his legacy as a coach.
Ditka played tight end at the University of Pittsburgh and was made the fifth overall pick by the Bears in the 1961 NFL Draft. He enjoyed a Hall of Fame career that included an NFL title with the Bears in 1963 and a Super Bowl win with the Dallas Cowboys. Ditka caught a touchdown pass from Roger Staubach in Super Bowl VI.
After retiring as a player in 1973, Ditka remained in Dallas and cut his teeth as a coach as an assistant to legendary Cowboys head coach Tom Landry. He eventually became Landry’s assistant head coach before being hired as the Bears’ head coach in 1982. The Bears had only four winning seasons in the 18 years since the 1963 title. Ditka quickly turned things around, building a team that embodied his toughness and will to win. Ditka’s ’85 Bears became Chicago’s first NFL champion since the ’63 team.
In 1988, Ditka was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame. It was the first of two significant areas: Ditka became the first tight end to be enshrined in Canton, and he became the first — and still only — Hall of Fame player to win a Super Bowl as a coach.
Ditka was a larger-than-life personality even before Super Bowl XX, but the “Da Bears” sketch on “Saturday Night Live” — along with high-profile endorsement deals and then a successful broadcasting career — took that to another stratosphere.
“As a Hall of Fame player, Super Bowl-winning coach with his beloved and iconic Bears, and as a broadcaster, Mike served as an ambassador for the game and inspired generations of fans,” NFL commissioner Roger Goodell said Friday in a statement.
Ditka’s impact as a player cannot be overestimated. He was the NFL Rookie of the Year in 1961 when he caught 56 passes for 1,076 yards and 12 touchdowns. Those numbers were unprecedented for a tight end in that era. He finished his career with 427 receptions for 5,812 yards and 43 touchdowns. Those numbers pale in comparison to today’s top tight ends, but they were historic at the time.
Here’s just one example of Ditka’s enduring greatness: Last week, Las Vegas Raiders star tight end Brock Bowers had 86 receiving yards against the Kansas City Chiefs to give him 2,076 yards for his young career. That was Bowers’ 31St career game — tied Hall of Famer Kellen Winslow Sr. as the second-fastest tight end to reach 2,000 yards.
Ditka did it in 30 games.
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